Unquestioned Answers
by Veni Et Confirma
Summary: Various Alterations to Canon Exercised.


Dusk had receded into the late ours of the day, slipping beyond the sight of those on the western longitudes and making way for the chirps of howls of summer's night. With bright stars and harsh jungle, the Avatar's band chanced a bright fire, warming the experimental supper Zuko had slopped together under Katara's unwavering eyes with Toph using her seismic lie-detector to verifying his recipes at every ingredient. It had been a nice surprise that Zuko knew the local flora and fauna from a trip _not _involving controversial intentions, but they knew there was more to learn about the young prince.

Said Royal nodded affirmatively to himself, then turned towards the bonfire.

"I've got bad news," Zuko approached the dining team of children( each of them younger than he, with the exception of maybe one earth-bender with decent facial hair) "I've lost my stuff."

The marginally pubescent Toph managed to set her bowl down and ward off culpability in one, fluid gesticulation "Don't look at me. I'd didn't _touch _your stuff." Zuko narrowed his gaze on the blind girl.

"I'm not talking about _my eyes_," she put her hands down, relaxed "I'm talking about-"

"Whoa!" the scarred (ex-)prince expected the South Polar warrior to be pointed out something of startling interest to the side, like a fierce, yet non-mixed animal like a lion or bear that might explain why earth king just happened to have one. Instead, Sokka was pointing an accusing finger in the prince's direction, as if _he _was the strange beast in question. "Wait _just _a minute! What do mean by '_my eyes_'? You're not hiding some 'collection'of eyeballs in some twisted display or something, are you? Because _t__hat's just_-"

Zuko interrupted with snort and rolled his (now questionable set of) eyes. "That's _not _the point!" he burst, then visibly struggled to hold down his quaking frustration (and barely managed to stop shaking) " I'm trying to _tell _you that-!"

"You're _sick!_" Both Sokka _and _his little sister halted the most important statement he may ever utter in his life. Then, for some reason Katara looked ready to dirty her hands with his blood. Literally. "You'd _better _have a good explanation for this! 'One wrong move', remember."

Zuko _did _remembered her thinly veiled threat, but mostly had to suppress his violent imagination's attempts to visualize escape routes for any possible misunderstandings and suppress them before the girl took his silence as an excuse to unleash a rogue wave on him. Luckily (and with no small amount of irony), the only one that he had seriously harmed so far came to his proverbial rescue, leveling her supposedly blind eyes and a half-burned foot at the Water Tribe siblings.

"He's talking about his _glass _eyes. The one's he puts in the leathery hold in his face. "

A silence choked any immediate response from the group, but left room for the boy in the flying wheel-chair to hum in interest. "Ya, make 'em yourself?"

"I had someone else mold it for me, but yeah." Zuko waved off his interest. "Anyway, when I said 'my stuff' I meant-"

Yet another interruption.

From the _monk_ "How did you go all _masked ninja-swordsman_ on those guys in Zhou's stronghold if you were at least _half-blind_?" he looked to his right, reflecting on that- " At _night_?" He seemed to be surprised at how many impairment Zuko should have had during the Avatar's rescue." With a _party __mask_?"

Zuko said nothing, ignoring various, hushed comments about 'masked ninja-swordsmen' and the resulting image not matching any of the proud, fierce, Fire-Bending prince. He shifted his foot to Toph's specific direction and silently prayed thanks for her seemingly immediate comprehension and cool demeanor.

"Bending for the Blind." came her answer " What else? Fire-Benders and Earth-Benders have to deal with a lot of sharp, little rocks and splinters flying everywhere when cut loose; its one of the reason's we have such awesome constitutions." she shrugged, surprised she had to even explain this "Losing an eye or two is common and my 'Blind Bandit' nickname is actually from real, eyeless pick-pocketer that wreak havoc on unsuspecting aristocrats."

It made sense that if Toph could see with earth, Zuko could with heat or something fiery and it seemed to satisfy all impulsive questioning...

Until Sokka gave a weird look at Toph, opening his big mouth and lifting a curious finger.

"Awesome constit-?" he had rolled a good four-and-a-half meters with one, delicate shove from the smallest member of the team. Sokka had one, decent response to her violent explanation. "Ow..."

"Toph!" Katara was at her brothers side with glowing water before he could even groan in pain.

"My bad." Her grin destroyed any apologetic tone she might have faked.

Zuko blew a smoky sigh at their ensuing antics. Then looked at what he had done, blushed for reasons unknown, and began walking back into the shadows of the night.

"Didn't you have something to tell us?" Aang called out to him. The prince didn't turn around.

"I think..." he slumped more in thought than exhaustion " I changed my mind."


End file.
